Keith Urban takes flight with Phoenix, Faith and family

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Keith Urban is in the middle of his Get Closer 2011 World Tour, but that didn't stop him from taking a most unusual step for a country singer -- launching a new fragrance for men, Phoenix by Keith Urban.

The singer took some time to talk to Reuters about the cologne, his two kids with wife Nicole Kidman -- Sunday and Faith -- and why you'll likely never see him act in movies.

Q: What made you decide to create a cologne?

A: "I grew up with a father that had a real appreciation for specific things -- certain leathers and fabrics and the way they felt, the way they smelled. It's inherent in what I do musically because I'm very particular about the way I write songs and put a tune together. So the cologne was an organic extension of that creativity. I loved the process of creating it because it was almost like a self-discovery thing."

Q: How so?

A: "I'm a romantic at heart and there's certain woods and leathers and fragrances I love because they make me feel a certain way. I'd never really stopped to think about the way something made me feel. I started thinking about why I choose one smell over another. The process opened me up a lot."

Q: Why did you call it Phoenix?

A: "I have a tattoo on my forearm which is technically a thunderbird but most people think it's a phoenix. When I was thinking of a logo for the bottle, the name Phoenix seemed to be a right sounding name. I wanted something that was easy for people to say and especially comfortable for most men to say."
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